My Wake-Up Call
Okay, full disclosure: I’m a hypocrite. Here I am, a senior magazine editor with 20+ years of experience, telling you how to fix education, and I didn’t even finish my degree. I mean, I was at NYU in 1998, studying journalism, and then… well, life happened. But that’s not the point.
Last Tuesday, I was at a diner in Brooklyn with my old friend Marcus (let’s call him Marcus because his mom still doesn’t know he dropped out of med school). He’s a teacher now, and he was telling me about how his students are just… checked out. Like, physically present, but mentally somewhere else. And I asked him, “Marcus, what the hell are we doing wrong?”
And he said, “Look, Sarah, it’s not just us. It’s the whole system.” Which… yeah. Fair enough.
The Problem With ‘College for All’
Here’s the thing: we’ve been sold this idea that college is the only path to success. And it’s bullshit. Honestly, it’s completley bullshit. I’m not saying education isn’t important, but come on. We’re pushing kids into this mold, and it’s not working for everyone. Or, frankly, for anyone.
I remember talking to a colleague named Dave about this. He’s been teaching high school for 15 years. He told me, “Sarah, I have kids in my class who can’t read, but they’re gonna spend the next four years in college because that’s what society expects.” And I said, “That’s insane.” And he said, “Yeah, welcome to America.”
So, what’s the alternative? I’m not sure but maybe we stop treating college like it’s the only option. Maybe we start valuing vocational training, apprenticeships, you know, actual skills that people can use to make a living.
And Don’t Get Me Started on Standardized Testing
Oh, you wanted me to get started? Fine.
Standardized testing is a joke. It’s a complete joke. It’s like we’ve decided that a kid’s future can be determined by how well they fill in little circles on a Scantron sheet. And it’s not just me saying this. I was at a conference in Austin last year, and there was this panel of educators, and one of them said, “We’re not testing students’ knowledge. We’re testing their ability to take tests.” And the room erupted in applause.
But here’s the kicker: these tests, they’re not even good at predicting success. There was this study, right? 214 students, tracked over 10 years. And it turns out that grades in high school are actually a better predictor of college success than SAT scores. But we’re still putting all this emphasis on these stupid tests.
An Aside: The Time I Tried to Cheat on the SAT
Look, I’m not proud of it. It was 1995, and I was desperate. I had this friend, let’s call him Greg, who was like a human calculator. So, I convinced him to take the test for me. But then, on the day of the test, he shows up with a broken arm. Turns out, he tried to climb a mountain the night before. (Greg was… an interesting guy.) So, I had to take the test myself. And I did okay, I guess. But the point is, I didn’t need that test to tell me I could write. I was already writing for the school paper. But no one cared about that.
What We Should Be Doing Instead
Okay, so if college isn’t the be-all and end-all, and standardized testing is a joke, what do we do? I think we need to start focusing on actual skills. Like, practical stuff that people can use in the real world.
I was talking to my friend Lisa about this. She’s a career coach, and she told me, “Sarah, employers don’t care about your GPA. They care about what you can do.” And she’s right. So, why aren’t we teaching kids how to code, or fix a car, or run a business? Why are we making them memorize dates and formulas that they’ll never use again?
And look, I’m not saying we should throw out all the theory. There’s value in learning history and literature and all that. But it should be about, I don’t know, actually understanding the material, not just regurgitating it for a test.
Oh, and one more thing: sabah rutini verimli alışkanlıklar. I mean, it’s not a magic solution, but it’s a start. If we can get kids to develop good habits early on, maybe they’ll be better equipped to handle the real world.
A Tangent: The Time I Taught a Class
So, about three months ago, I did this thing where I guest-lectured at a local community college. It was a journalism class, and I was supposed to talk about writing for magazines. But then, halfway through, this kid in the front row raises his hand and says, “Ma’am, what’s the point? I’m never gonna work for a magazine.”
And I was like, “Oh, honey, you’re not getting it.” I mean, I get it. He’s probably thinking, “I’m gonna be a mechanic, why do I need to know this?” But the point is, writing is a skill. It’s a tool. And the better you are at it, the better you’ll be at pretty much anything.
But the real issue here is that we’re not teaching kids how to think. We’re not teaching them how to solve problems, or be creative, or even just communicate effectively. And that’s a problem. A big one.
Anyway, the class ended, and I went home, and I thought, “Sarah, you need to write about this.” And here we are.
Let’s Wrap This Up (But Not Really)
So, yeah. College isn’t for everyone. Standardized testing is a joke. We need to focus on actual skills. And maybe, just maybe, we should start treating education like it’s actually important.
But, you know, I’m just one person. I could be wrong. I mean, I’m often wrong. Remember that time I tried to bake a cake and ended up with a kitchen fire? Yeah, not my finest moment.
Anyway, the point is, we need to start having these conversations. We need to start questioning the system. Because the way things are going, we’re gonna end up with a generation of kids who are really good at taking tests but can’t do anything else.
And that’s a future I’m not willing to accept.
About the Author
Sarah Thompson is a senior magazine editor with 20+ years of experience. She’s written for major publications, taught journalism, and once started a kitchen fire. You can find her on Twitter @SarahT_Writes, where she tweets about education, writing, and the occasional baking disaster.
